First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Separately, Raymond James raised First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First United Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FUNC opened at $37.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. First United has a fifty-two week low of $19.17 and a fifty-two week high of $42.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.53. The company has a market capitalization of $243.53 million, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.81.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 12.51%. Research analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUNC. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First United by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 101,915 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its stake in First United by 565.9% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 92,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 78,550 shares in the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First United during the fourth quarter worth $934,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of First United by 218.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,146 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 16,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First United by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 31,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 15,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

First United Company Profile

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.